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The Champions Mile was won by new contender to the crown in Ceolwulf. But he did not have it all his own way.
The exciting Joseph Pride-trained gelding fought a pulsating duel with Bjorn Baker’s Pericles before edging ahead by a nose. Another Sydneysider, Steffi Magnetica finished third.
But the win came at a high cost for Ceolwulf’s jockey Chad Schofield who was fined $35,000 by stewards for breaching the whip rule, and suspended for 11 meetings for careless riding 200 metres from the finishing post.
The fine will take a sizeable chunk out of his $90,000 share of the prize money.
After the race, Pride said he was now considering aiming Ceolwulf at the top.
“I’d love to be back here for the Cox Plate,” he said. “Whether or not he is as good at 2000 as he is at a mile, we’ll find out in the autumn [and] probably in the Queen Elizabeth. Great way to finish the year.”
Chad Schofield on Ceolwulf (right) won by the narrowest margin in the Champions Mile.Credit: Getty Images
Whether Ceolwulf gets to trade blows with Via Sistina next year when the Cox Plate relocates to Flemington remains to be seen, but Waller continued to marvel at his champion mare.
She has now chalked up 12 group 1 victories in her career.
“She was tough today,” Waller said of Via Sistina’s three-length win. “She went back from the draw, James didn’t panic, and it was awesome to see her in the straight.”
Waller also sang the praises of McDonald after the formidable pair registered their 50th group 1 triumph together. Not bad for two dairy farmers’ sons from New Zealand.
“It is an honour to be working with him,” Waller said. “There’s no pressure, no pre-race stress, and I didn’t even give any instructions.
“He said, ‘I’ll go and ride her like Hughie [Bowman] used to ride Winx’, best horse in the race, give her some clean air, and I said, ‘That sounds good to me’.
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“There’s less pressure when you trust each other. I’d go to war with him, and he’d do the same for me.”
Waller and McDonald have closed within four of the Australian record held by Gai Waterhouse’s late father Tommy Smith and the late jockey George Moore.
“We work wonderfully together and he’s an absolute genius. I can’t put into words how good he is,” McDonald said of Waller.
“We’re not far off one of the greatest combinations in racing history. That’s something to aim up at.”
Grand campaigner Giga Kick lifted himself of the canvas to win the $3 million 1200m Champions Sprint in another slugfest that went the distance. He won by a nose from Magic Time.
“He just fronts up,” an elated trainer Clayton Douglas said. “He missed 12 months with an injury. He’s done a tremendous job to get back to group 1 level and I will be forever grateful for him.
Mark Zahra on board Giga Kick wins the Champions Sprint.Credit: Getty Images
“He’s a champ this horse and I love him. It’s actually my first Melbourne group 1 which is really special as well.”
Zahra said he felt like the Grahame Begg-trained Magic Time was going to hold him out in the race to the line.
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“But his last 50 [metres], he had a proper crack the old boy and got his head out at the right time,” Zahra said.
The win lifted six-year-old Giga Kick’s career prize money to $14.3 million, a figure inflated by his victory in the Everest in 2022.
The win also took Zahra’s Cup carnival tally to seven, including two group 1s on Derby Day.
“It’s been a massive week and hopefully, there’s a nice bottle of champagne there for me now,” Zahra said.
